A day trip to Fitzroy Island is probably one of best value for money things you can do in Cairns. The ferry transfer is only $42 return and the island itself is stunning, covered with lust topical rainforest and almost completely unspoiled by tourism. I did a couple of the walks but mainly just sat on the Nudey Beach (where everyone was ironically clothed, lol) and listened to some tunes. The island and the beach is gorgeous, it in fact looks just like the cover of the Lonely Planet for the Seychelles, my photos don’t do it justice!
The island is full of wildlife too. I saw a giant fruit bat in canopy about 5m above me, during one of my walks, that had a wing span of about 1.2 meters! I was watching it for a little while until it noticed me and flew out over the ocean and back into the forest around the corner. They fed on the fruit of the fig trees that are common in this part of Queensland. Over here they call them Flying Foxes and the one I saw was a Black Flying Fox. It was pretty impressive, as it was the first time I’ve seen a bat in person!